Florida housing complex wants to ban kids from playing in street

Remember life as a kid in the good-old days? You came home from school, gulped down a glass of milk, and raced outside to meet up with a pack of neighborhood kids. You played wildly in the street, tossing around footballs, playing kick-the-can, and riding bikes. All of this was done without any adult supervision, or maybe mom or dad poked a head out the front door a couple times to make sure everything was under control.

Yes, you can still find kid nirvana in neighborhoods around the country but many would agree that those days of children playing freely and safely outside are endangered.

And then there’s the homeowners association in Edgewater, Fl., that wants to entirely ban kids from playing outside unless accompanied by an adult.

Should kids be allowed to play outside without an adult?

The board of directors in a housing community called Persimmon Place is proposing a new list of rules that includes one specifically regulating child play.

Rule No. 4 states: “Minor children will not be under the direct control of a responsible adult at all times. Children will not be permitted to run, play tag, or act boisterously on the association property. Skateboarding, ‘Big Wheels,’ or loud or obnoxious toys are prohibited.”

The rule also states that children aren’t allowed to play in driveways or the front or rear areas of other units.

Those who violate the rule will be hit with a $100 fine.

Many parents who live in the complex are outraged. “I don’t think you should take away a kid’s right to ride a bike and play kickball and yell and scream outside,” one mother told My Fox Orlando.

“They’re going to have to get that money out of me because that’s not going to happen. They can ticket me all they want. My kids are going to play,” another mother chimed in.

Yet members of the homeowners association stand behind their proposed rules that are currently being reviewed by an attorney. “This is not a good place for children,” resident Peggy Garrett, a grandmother and great-grandmother, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “When (the parents) moved in here with kids they knew they had no place to play. We have no playground.”

According to the News-Journal, families are new to this neighborhood that was primarily inhabited by retired seniors in the past. The older residents say parents are letting their kids wander the neighborhood with little oversight. They also feels that the 48-unit townhouse subdivision lacks open space so children play in driveways and the parking lot, which they feel is unsafe.

“If I had kids and was looking for a place to live (knowing) there is no place for kids to play except in the driveway I would not think that was safe,” 16-year resident Beth Lane told the News-Journal.

Lenore Skenazy, an advocate for children’s play and the author of Free Range Kids, shared her opinion on her popular blog: “The point is: Kids DESERVE to play outside. It doesn’t even seem like it should be LEGAL to ban this, anymore than banning eating or sleeping.

But of course, it’s all about ‘safety,’ the word that sneaks into so many debates, legitimately or not, and often stuns all common sense.

I hope the kids storm this meeting in their roller skates. It is time for a revolution.”